SCCF releases updated sea turtle nesting report for the islands

August 3, 2018

The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation released an updated nesting report as of today.

Officials reported that the total sea turtle stranding count since the red tide started is up to 124 - alive and dead - 84 of which have washed up since June 1. There were 10 strandings alone on Aug. 2.

The comparison of nest counts to date (as compared to 2017) are as follows:

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LOGGERHEAD NESTS

- East End: 98 (149 in 2017)

- West End: 435 (480 in 2017)

- Captiva: 162 (188 in 2017)

- Total: 695 (817 in 2017)

GREEN NESTS

- East End: 0 (3 in 2017)

- West End: 2 (28 in 2017)

- Captiva: 0 (0 in 2017)

- Total: 2 (31 in 2017)

KEMP'S RIDLEY NESTS

- East End: 0 (0 in 2017)

- West End: 1 (0 in 2017)

- Captiva: 0 (0 in 2017)

- Total: 1 (0 in 2017)

The counts for false crawls are as follows:

LOGGERHEAD

- East End: 332 (233 in 2017)

- West End: 790 (605 in 2017)

- Captiva: 223 (202 in 2017)

- Total: 1,345 (1,040 in 2017)

GREEN

- East End: 0 (0 in 2017)

- West End: 0 (22 in 2017)

- Captiva: 0 (1 in 2017)

- Total: 0 (23 in 2017)

Tips to help keep keep the beaches sea turtle friendly:

- Turn off or shield all lights that are visible from the beach. Do not use flashlights or cell phone lights on the beach. If necessary, use amber or red LED bulbs.

- Do not disturb the screens covering nests. They prevent predators from eating the eggs and the hatchlings emerge through the holes without assistance.

- Remove all beach furniture and equipment from the beach at night.

- Dispose of fishing line properly to avoid wildlife entanglement.

- Fill in large holes that can trap hatchlings and nesting sea turtles.

- Do not disturb nesting turtles - please do not to get too close, shine lights on or take flash photos of nesting sea turtles.